Deception
by houseofstories99
Summary: She deceived her, and tricked her into something horrible. This is why Nina Martin really didn't return to Anubis House; this is the deception that everyone fell into. My belated entry for HOA One-Shot Day. WARNING: Kind of graphic.


**A/N:** Hey guys!

New Readers of mine: Welcome! Thank you for considering checking out this one shot! I am thrilled that you decided to take a chance with my writing! If you end up enjoying this one shot, please feel free to take a gander at my other works: Oblivious, Reactions, Revenge: A sequel to Reactions, Broken, Scared, Gone, Guilt, and Inherited!

Old Readers: Welcome back! This is the one shot I was talking about in the last update of Broken- I told you I'd get it done eventually!

Everyone!: So, I was graciously invited by JessIsTheBest to participate in HOA One-shot day! Unfortunately, due to my busy schedule with school, clubs, etc., I was unable to complete my entry on time.

For those of you who know me and have read my stories/one-shots before, you know this is not surprising. I was extremely bummed when I couldn't get this up on time, so I am hoping you will forgive me and still check this out!

So, here is my belated entry for HOA one-shot day: Deception.

Before you have at it, **THERE ARE A COUPLE THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS ONE SHOT:**

-This story takes place AFTER Season 2 but BEFORE Season 3!

-The entire story will be told in NINA'S P.O.V.

-It is going to be somewhat graphic (violence, drugs...you'll see)

-This is something that I imagined happening prior to Season 3; I always thought Nina's disappearance from the House was strange, and that more could have been done with it. This is just one of the ideas I came up with.

So with those things in mind, I hope you enjoy this one shot!

Oh, and please review when you are finished!

Enjoy!

* * *

I stare at him with sincere eyes, trying to convince him that I will be alright. Although, I know I won't.

"Nina…this doesn't feel right…I mean I thought I was supposed to _protect_ you…if that's true, how am I supposed to be away from you?"

I sigh, and close my eyes. I hate lying to him like this (he is my Osirian, after all), but this is for the best. He needs to stay out of this mess I've gotten myself into, and go back to the House and protect everyone I love.

I gave him my locket (which was the second hardest thing I've ever done, the first being deciding not to return to Anubis), and I told him that I was simply staying away because I "learned" that we were supposed to be kept apart. I also threw in the fact that Gran was so ill that I need to take constant care of her, which wasn't a lie entirely…

"Eddie…" I start, "I you want to protect me…you'll do this for me. Trust me, this is for the better. I need you to go back and keep…keep them safe. Please, I need you to do this."

He purses his lips, in obvious confliction.

I hate to admit it, but he is extremely gullible. He didn't even ask for proof when I told him that I had to stay away; he just took my word for it. Hopefully he'll never know the truth…

He sighs, and turns the envelope I gave him (containing a goodbye letter to Fabian) in it.

"If…if that's what you want…then I'll do it." He whispers.

I nod, and smile at him. "Thank you."

He nods, and then he pulls me into an awkward hug. I wrap my arms around him in return, and take in his scent and his touch, knowing it will be the last time I'll ever sense any of it.

"I know you'll have a lot to do when you get there…" I start, "But please, _please_…take care of Fabian. This will be hard for him, I know…so please…try to look out for him, and be there for him…for me."

At this point I am about to burst into tears. I don't want this I don't want this…

I feel Eddie nod against my shoulder, and then back away. He looks down at his watch and sighs.

"My flight is leaving in less than three hours so…I should probably get going." He says.

I nod, and walk him to the front door of my house. We stare at each other for a few moments, and then he twists the doorknob and walks out, without saying another word.

Through the window next to the door, I watch him walk down the driveway, my locket in one hand and the letter for Fabian in the other.

I turn around, and I slide down to the ground against the window.

I don't want to do this…

…but I have to.

_I have to._

For his safety, and for everyone else's,

_I have to._

* * *

On the way to her apartment, I think back to when all of this started…

_Mr. Sweet had emailed me. He wanted to tell me that I was falling slightly behind in World History, and that in order to keep my GPA up (if it fell, I would lose my scholarship), it would be a wise idea to take a World History class over the summer._

_So Gran searched for classes for me to take, and she eventually got me enrolled in a remedial World History class at Stanford University- one of the best colleges in America._

_I remember feeling odd as I walked through the halls of the beautiful university; I wasn't in college yet, and I didn't like being at a school that wasn't closely tied with Anubis House._

_After maneuvering my way around the school, I found my classroom. When I walked in, there_ were _only four people: three students and a teacher. The teacher- a tall, freckly pale-skinned man with shaggy brown hair and green eyes- walked over to me, smiling brightly._

_"Ah, you must be Nina Martin. Welcome. I'm Mr. Beckley, your teacher. Class started five minutes ago, but you didn't really miss anything. Just take a seat anywhere you would prefer and we'll get started._

_My cheeks turned tomato red, of course; I hate making a fool of myself. But I did as he instructed, and I took a seat at the front of the room._

_"Now" Mr. Beckley began, "today we will be starting our unit about Ancient Egyptian History. We will begin by talking about the basic gods, and we'll start in alphabetical order. Now, does anybody know anything about the god Anubis?"_

_I did everything I could to keep from laughing. I did everything I could to stop myself from speaking out about anything I knew, when topics correlated with everything I have been through. But on the day when we started speaking about "descendants of the gods", I did lose it. I was good with most of the stuff, but then he started talking about the Chosen One and the Osirian…_

_It had all happened so fast. I stood up from my seat and fled the room, telling Mr. Beckley that I felt sick. I did run to the bathroom, but so I could sob, not vomit._

_I remember leaning up against the sink in the bathroom, crying, and wiping my dripping mascara away from my eyes. I remember thinking that I would give _anything_ to have Fabian with me to hug and hold, and be able to talk with…but then she came in._

_"Are you alright?" _

_I turned around and faced her. She had medium-length, straight blonde hair, and onion toned skin. She looked much older than I- maybe in her late twenties or early thirties- but her outfit looked like something from a teenager's closet. She was holding a stack of books, and had gold bracelets dangling from her wrists._

_I wiped my eyes and sighed. "I'm fine…but thank you for asking."_

_She took a few steps closer to me. "Um…this may sound creepy, but I'm going through school now to try to get my teaching degree…and I have to take classes on how to understand the minds of children, and it appears to me that you are having a breakdown. Is there something you need to discuss?"_

_I stared at this odd women, taken aback by her awkward kindness. _

_"I really am fine…but thank you for asking though. Um, what is your name?" I say._

_She smiles, and offers me her hand underneath all of her books._

_"Carol." She says. "What's yours?"_

_I shake her hand and say, "Nina. Nina Martin. It's nice to meet you."_

_I talked to Carol for a little while before I went back to class; she seemed very sweet. She said she had always wanted to be an Egyptologist, but she couldn't go through school because of family issues. She was going back to school to become a history teacher, because it was the next closest thing to being an Egyptologist. I told her about the class I was taking, and that I was a student at Boarding School in England that was very Egyptian-centered. She was particularly interested in the names of all the houses; she said she adored anything Egypt related._

_Carol and I became friends in that bathroom. She told me she was thirty-three, but we seemed to have a connection, despite our differences in age. We swapped numbers, and then we both went about our ways._

_When I returned to class, the other three students had left, and Mr. Berkley was packing up his things. _

_"Ah Nina! I was worried about you- are you alright?" _

_I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just…I haven't been feeling too good, so…"_

_"Oh dear, you don't need to explain that to me! Everyone gets sick, you're fine! However, you did miss the rest of class, so why don't you walk with me and I'll catch you up on everything?"_

_Of course I agreed. I'm people pleaser who wants to do well in school, why wouldn't I have gone with him?_

_We walked out to his car, and he filled me in on the lesson. Apparently we talked a lot about the fall of the Egyptian Empire, and not about…me. When we arrived at his car (which was in the middle of a deserted parking lot) he sighed._

_"The last thing we talked about- which we began discussing as you walked out- were common descendants of the gods."_

_A lump formed in my throat, but I managed to push it back down._

_"Oh uh, yeah." I said_

_He smiled at me. "Yeah…but….here's the thing, Nina, it's funny you walked out when you did, because we started talking about you and that boy- Eddie's his name, right?"_

_I had thought I hallucinated him saying that sentence at first. But the next thing I knew, he had me pushed up against his car, and was pressing the end of a gun to my stomach. I remember screaming bloody murder, but he wouldn't back off._

_"Listen here, Chosen One." He said, his demeanor changed, "I know all about you. I'm a good friend of Rufus Zeno, and he filled me in on you and your little posse. You're probably wondering why we hate you so much- it's because we share common goals in becoming immortal. We could easily do so, but you and your friends won't let us. That's very frustrating to me, Nina."_

_I was in so much shock at the time, I didn't know what to do or say to him. I just leaned back against the car, and wished that I was anywhere else…_

_"…I stalked you. I watched you gossip with that irritating blonde roommate of yours. I saw you hookup with that geeky brown haired kid…and I even followed you all the way back from England. I forged that email you got about needing that history credit; Sweetie really shouldn't make all of his school account passwords Eddie's birthday. And now, after everything I have done to try to get to you, I have you right where I want you. So here is what is going to happen next: you are going to get in this car, and drive me to wherever you have that Cup of Ankh hidden. I want it- no, I _need_ it. If you don't hand it over to me, than I will kidnap your idiot Osirian, and I will kill you in front of him. So, the choice is yours. "_

_Images of Fabian, Amber, and Eddie swam through my mind, and I feared for them. I wanted to scream, and get as far away from this man as I could, but before I had time to respond, or even react to everything he had said, a car came speeding in from nowhere, and almost drove over Mr. Beckley._

_The impact of the car caused him to fall over, dragging him and the gun down to the ground. I stood back away from his car and him, and tried to creep away slowly. But the windows of this sudden rescue car rolled down, revealing a frantic looking Carol._

_"NINA! GET IN!" She hissed._

_Automatically, I jumped in the car with her. During the process, Mr. Beckley tried to grab my foot and pull me down with him. But Carol was too quick; she was speeding away from him and the school before he even had the chance to take another breath._

_As Carol drove frantically down the streets of California, I sat in silence. I could not BELIEVE any of that had happened. I had always known Rufus was an evil bastard, but I had no clue he was THIS determined to get what he wanted…_

_Once we were a safe distance away from Stanford, Carol breathed a sigh of relief._

_"That was too close…" she stammered._

_I stared at her, several thoughts racking my mind:_

_How did she know where to find me? How did she know that I would be in trouble, and in need of saving? How?_

_"Carol…how did you know-"_

_"I've known David- Mr. Beckley- for a while." She interrupts, "he…he's been after my sister. I heard him talking about what he was planning on doing to you…so when I found you in the bathroom today, I thought he had hurt you. But then I saw you go back into his classroom, so I knew you were okay. But then I saw you walking alone with him as I was leaving…so I followed you. I'm sorry if you think I'm a stalker, but I had to help you." She explains._

_I stare at her in shock. What kind of animal is this guy?_

_"Wait…why is he after your sister? I ask._

_She sighs. "She's supposed to fulfill this heroic task of reviving a long-deceased Egyptologist, and she's too mentally unstable to do it…he wants to kill her so he can do it himself. I told you I'm into Egyptology; that is not a lie, but I am only into it to help protect my sister. He has also mentioned that he wants to kill a Chosen One (who I assume is you) to get a…cup?"_

_I thought that she was smart and brave. She was smart enough to figure out who I am, and brave enough to defend her sister. She calmed me down, and brought me out of shock from my near-kidnapping; she was my savior._

_I closed my eyes and breathed heavily._

_ "Yes…that's true." I began, "It's called the Cup of Ankh, actually. He probably wants it because those who drink from it receive immortality. I've already dealt with people who have wanted it, so this really isn't anything new for me-"_

_"But it is for my sister and I. We don't know why it's her who has to revive this guy or whatever, and David is trying to kill her because he wants to do it! It's sick Nina! Sick, Sick, Sick!"_

_I nodded, and let all of this new information sink in. Carol's sister is facing some of the same issues I faced last year. And if David was stalking me when I was back at the House, then who is to say he won't go back, and hurt everyone I love? Or me?_

_I won't let that happen._

_She needs my help; we need to defeat Mr. Beckley- David- once and for all._

_"C-Carol…" I started, "There's only one way we can permanently end him…"_

_She looks at me in shock. "Do you mean…that we kill him?"_

_I nod my head. "He's obviously a threat, and who is to say he's not going to kill me or your sister if we don't stop him?"_

_Carol nodded enthusiastically. "Agreed. I've been wanting to murder him ever since he laid eyes on my sister, it's just I never thought I would have someone who would help me…"_

The memory makes me freeze temporarily. It was right then and there when Carol and I decided we were going to murder David Beckley; we decided to end him and his schemes once and for all.

At first I thought we wouldn't ever go through with it, but I am now on my way to her house, where we will end his life. I am terrified to kill him, absolutely terrified. I'm only doing it for four reasons:

1.) To keep everyone at the house safe.

2.) To keep Carol's sister safe.

3.) To keep myself and Carol safe.

4.) To make sure he (like Rufus) doesn't try to take over the world with immortality.

We came up with a specific plan that should work, but I can't stop running through my head…

1.) Carol is going to get her hands on Sodium Thiopental, Bromide, and Potassium Chloride (the three drugs used in Lethal Injection- they will be used one at a time to do the killing); we will later spike these in a drink that Carol will make for him.

2.) Carol will invite David over to her House to "pay him" to leave her sister alone.

3.) Once we kill David with the injections, we are going to cut him up into small enough pieces to fit into a black trash bag.

4.) We are going to take the David-filled trash bag to a landfill approximately 2.8 miles east of Carol's house, and dispose of him there; no one will ever find his body there.

5.) Once the deed is done, Carol and I are to do everything and anything in our power to cover up our acts (which is why I can't go back to Anubis. If I do become a suspect, fleeing the country will NOT look good.)

I honestly do not like the plan, because I do not want to become a murderer, but I have to do it: I have to keep the world safe.

I'm most scared that he'll follow me (or Eddie) back to Anubis, and that he will not only try to hurt me, but everyone I love (i.e. Fabian, Amber, Eddie, Patricia, etc.) as well.

I will do anything to keep them safe from him- _anything._ And if killing him and staying in America to cover it up is what it takes, then so be it.

I'm only doing this for them.

_For them._

* * *

I arrive at her house in just twenty minutes.

She lives in a quiet suburban neighborhood, away from all the chaos of Los Angeles, California. Her house is small, and made out of bricks and brown stucco. It has a neatly trimmed yard, and is very well kept.

I sigh, and slide out of my car. I don't want to do this I don't want to do this I don't want to do this…

Would she hate me if I backed out?

I can't back out…I've already swore that I would help, and I need to protect Sibuna.

I have to do this.

I march up her driveway, and step on the front porch. I ring the doorbell, and wait for her to answer.

It is a quiet, breezy night. The stars are gleaming brightly, and there is a crescent moon; beautiful.

"Nina."

I whip around, to see Carol standing in the door way. She is wearing a pink blouse, floral cardigan, black pants, and black pumps. Her makeup is done, and she is smiling widely at me.

"Hey Carol." I croak.

She gestures for me to come inside, so I do.

She leads me through a long, decorative hallway, and into a room off to the side. It is a wide, cozy looking room with plush white couches, pieces of art lining the walls, a glass coffee table, an extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and crème carpeted floors.

"Please, sit. I'm going to finish mixing the poison- I'll be back in a jiff!" she exclaims.

I nod, and take a seat on one of the couches. My stomach has managed to tie itself into thousands of knots; I am_ not_ ready for this.

Moments later, Carol comes back carrying a silver tray covered with silver tea cups.

She sits down on the couch across from me, and sets the tray down on the coffee table between us. She sets one of the cups down in front of me, one in front of her, and another one to the left of me.

"Don't drink the one to the left: that's David's..." She says.

I nod, and cringe at the thought of David sipping from the cup, oblivious to the fact that he will be unconscious just minutes later.

"You haven't touched your tea yet…" Carol starts.

I glance down at the cup of tea- I had almost forgotten about its presence.

"Sorry…it's just that I'm-"

"Nervous?"

I nod. "Yeah…I mean, I know we're doing this as a favor to everyone we love, but…it's still murder. I'm just scared…"

Carol reaches forward and clasps my hand. "I understand, Nina. I'm nervous too- very much so. But just remember: this is going to keep everyone you love and my sister safe. It would be a crime if we didn't do this, okay?"

I nod, and squeeze her hand back. "Yeah, I know-"

The sound of knocking on a door throws me off. _He's here._

Carol lets go of my hand, and rises to her feet. "It's time…remember Nina, be brave."

I nod, and push a lump down my throat. Here it goes…

I hear the front door swing open, and the sound of Carol's voice welcoming David. I bounce my knee up and down in anxiousness as I wait for them to enter the room.

I can hear their footsteps smack against the floors of Carol's hallway, growing closer to this room. I take a deep breath, and I try to relax. You can do this Nina…

Just then, they enter. When David notices me, his eyes grow wide.

"What is _she_ doing here?!" he spits.

Carol pats his shoulders, and guides him over to his spot beside me. I want to get up and run, but I refuse to make a fool of myself…

"She is here to offer you some money too." Explains Carol.

"Yeah, her sister isn't the only one who wants you off her back." I snap.

He glares at me, and lifts his cup of tea. Here it goes…

He takes a sip. In only a matter of minutes, he will be on the brink of death; Carol and I are about to get away with murder.

To calm myself, I take a swig of my tea as well. The liquid tastes sweet in my mouth, but then it starts to burn violently as it flows down my throat. I slam the cup down against the coffee table, and wipe my mouth.

"Carol, what flavor is this?" I ask.

"It's spicy mango." She says, clearing her throat.

"Anyway," she continues, "David, we would like to arrange a deal with you…"

I try to focus in on what she is saying, but I am too distracted by the fiery pain of the tea I just drank. I can feel it slide down my esophagus and go through my body; I feel like I have just a gallon of gasoline.

I try to ignore it and focus on Carol.

"…Ultimately David, we just want you to leave us and our loved ones alone. I am willing to pay you over two million dollars if you agree…" Carol says.

Bombs start going off in my stomach. I clutch my abdomen in agony, and fall over on the couch. What the hell is wrong with me?!

"Nina, are you alright?" Carol asks.

I shake my head. "C-Carol…"

The tea has made me sick. I've had tea before though…perhaps it's the odd flavor?

Or…

Carol gave me the wrong tea.

Carol gave me the poisoned tea!

Oh no,

Oh god no!

"Carol, y-you got the drinks mixed up! Call an ambulance!" I shriek.

My entire body feels like it is on fire, and I can feel my eyes start to droop. How could she have possibly gotten the drinks mixed up? How?!

Through my cracked open eyes, I see Carol and David staring quizzically at each other.

"Who's Carol?" David starts, "This is Caroline…Caroline Denby." He says.

I stare at Carol/Caroline in utter confusion.

"W-what…" I stammer.

The pain sears in almost my entire body now, so badly that I fall off the couch. My head hits the floor with a loud thud, and I swear that I see stars.

Carol/Caroline smirks, and strides over to me.

"Oh Nina, you may be dating a nerd, but you sure aren't one. Don't you see what has happened? You have drank the tea! And not by mere accident of course…."

I stare at her in the most shock and terror I have ever felt; she has been playing me!

But, why? I thought we were on the same team!

David stands up and walks over to Caroline. He leans in close to her face, and kisses her square on the lips.

It clicks then: Caroline and David have been working together. Caroline probably made everything up about her sister, and was using me. She fooled me!

Tears well up in my eyes as the pain of the Sodium Thiopental kicks into full gear. My head is spinning, my muscles are aching…I am going to be unconscious at any minute. I know they won't save me; the Bromide and the Potassium Chloride will be in my system shortly after I pass out.

And then I will die.

She fooled me. She played me! I believed her.

I believed her.

Suddenly, I hear their laughter. I look up from the ball I have curled myself into, and stare at them with cold eyes.

"Y-y-you…you…d-did this to m-me!" I screech, hardly able to move my lips.

Caroline sinks to my level, and caresses my face.

"Why yes, yes I did Nina. Before I proceed to kill you, I just want to thank you- thank you for being so easy and so gullible. Now that you are going to be out of our way, we can pursue our dreams of being immortal. It's going to be splendid! Just remember, this is all thanks to you!"

I don't know if I am hallucinating, but I am pretty sure she is talking with a British accent now.

She played me. She used me. She fooled me.

She _deceived_ me.

My vision has become distorted, thus I can no longer see the world around me in a normal peripheral. My stomach is burning, and my head is spinning…I am on the brink of death, I can feel it.

I don't want to die! I don't want to, I'm not ready yet!

This is the end…right here and right now. I am going to die on this floor at the hands of Carol/Caroline and David, all because of my gullibility.

I will never see Gran again. She will spend the rest of her life in a nursing home, wondering what happened to me.

I will never see any of my American friends again. They'll want to know what happened to me, but they will move on.

I'll never see Sibuna again. If they even learn of what has happened to me, I'm sure they'll do whatever it takes to bring Caroline and David to justice. But I made sure Eddie assured them I was fine; they will never suspect anything bad has happened to me.

Most importantly, I will never see my Fabian again. I will never kiss him, solve mysteries with him, or love him ever again.

As I continue to blink away tears, the world becomes darker and darker; I am almost done.

As if on cue, or as expected to happen in a movie, my life flashes before my very eyes: I see snippets of my childhood, memories from my tween years, and finally events from Anubis. I see the first time I met Fabian, and all of my friends, the mysteries, the defeat of Rufus and Senkara, all of my kisses with Fabian, everything.

It is all coming to a close. Although I am petrified of what is about to happen next, I try to smile and think of the happy memories of my life.

I try, but it doesn't work. I can't get one single thought out of my head:

I have been deceived; this is deception.

I have just died because of it.

* * *

~An Hour Or So Later~

* * *

After they injected her with the Bromide (which shut down her respiratory system) and the Potassium Chloride (which stopped her heart), Carol/Caroline did everything to her that they had talked about doing to David.

They had her remains in a heavy-duty trash bag, which they were now dragging behind them as they carried her to a nearby landfill.

"I'm so glad this is over with. I really couldn't stand her." Carol/Caroline said.

David smirked. "She seemed to be very annoying. I'm glad we killed her."

"Yeah me too." Carol/Caroline replied, "Now all I have to do is go to Anubis House, reawaken Frobisher-Smythe, and then we will be immortal!"

David grimaced, and smiled down at his girlfriend. "It will be glorious. And you should have no problems doing so, with her out of the way."

"Of course not. Her little Fabian and whoever else will be so distraught over her absence, they probably won't even delve into another mystery."

After a couple more minutes, they arrived at the landfill. It is a deep, vast, muddy pit where people in the community dump their trash. They're so much crap in it, no one will ever suspect a black trash bag would be filled with the cut up remains of a teenage girl.

Hell, there might be a couple bodies in there already.

Caroline and David walked up to the edge of the landfill, with the trash bag at their feet; they were about to permanently dispose of Nina Martin

"On three..." David said.

Caroline nodded, and gripped the trash bag firmly.

"1..." she started.

"2..." said David.

"3!" they said together.

They pushed the trash bag down into the landfill, and they smiled to themselves as it rolled down into the deep abyss of garbage. Eventually, they could not see it anymore; it was just a pile of trash like everything else in there was.

David wrapped his arms around his girlfriend's shoulders, and they started walking back to her house. If anyone else had seen them in this moment, they would have thought they were just a happy couple in love.

Not a couple who just murdered an innocent teenage girl, to become immortal.

No one would ever suspect that they killed Nina Martin, the Chosen One.

_No one._


End file.
